Spring 2022
Holistically Serving Student Experiences: Addressing Equity and Access to High-Quality Learning within the Maricopa Community Colleges
Dr. Elizabeth (Liz) Cantú, Dr. Linda Manning, Professor Erica Wager, Estrella Mountain Community College
An Estrella Mountain Community College (EMCC) Student Experience Research study conducted during the spring 2021 and fall 2021 semester showed that students were longing for personal connection and engagement. Our goal through the MCLI grant is to implement videos and how-to guides that help students navigate our college and have more personal touch points along their academic journey with employees (faculty and staff) and other students. This would complement the wrap-around services that already exist at EMCC and provide more opportunities for us to assess what students are learning and finding helpful.
This project incorporates family-friendly programs designed to help college employees understand students’ cultural backgrounds and experiences while also giving opportunities for students to learn and exchange knowledge about their own cultural communities. The grant will also support a campaign to promote the Community Innovation Summit more widely as a program that fosters teamwork and the pursuit of mutual success by having students engage in cross-cultural interactions focused on solving real-life social and community problems (Museus & Smith, 2016). In order to assess these initiatives and interventions, we have developed campus assessment practices that generate data and evidence that can inform efforts that lead us to maximize success among diverse populations.
Increasing Student Success in Science with Embedded Peer Tutoring
Patricia Ashby, John Nagy, and Phil Root, Scottsdale Community College
Several factors stand in the way of completing college-level science courses, including difficult content, time constraints, work and family considerations, inadequate study skills, and hesitancy to seek help. Many students at-risk of failing are first-generation college students and underrepresented minorities, who may enter college poorly prepared for the rigor of science classes. Studying outside the classroom is essential for learning and successful completion, and external support places a key role in student success. This project aims to increase student success in BIO181 and CHM130 for all at-risk populations, including underrepresented minorities, by providing enhanced student support in the form of embedded peer tutors in the labs.